O-jolle

For the Olympics in 1936, the German Sailing Union required a new single-handed dinghy. The trials were won by Helmut Stauch, sailing his own design. 25 nations competed in the single-hander event in Kiel, where the Netherlands won gold. The O-dinghy of the German silver medalist Werner Krogmann may be admired at the Olympic Museum in Cologne.

For the planned Olympic Games of 1940 in Finland, the Finnish Yachting Federation ordered a series of 20 O-dinghies from Åbo Båtvarf. The war ruined the plan, and the beautifully built dinghies were sold off to private buyers along the Finnish shores. The O-dinghy carried a single sail on a straight, stayed mast. The pivoting centerboard was made of steel plate. The modern dinghy has a flexible aluminum spar and a loose-footed main. In 1939, a total of 680 Olympia dinghies were registered in Germany, but when post-war politics axed the class from the Olympics, it stagnated. Nowadays some 800 Olympia dinghies are sailing, mainly in Germany and Holland.